Agathangelus

From the Catholic Encyclopedia

A supposed secretary of Tiridates II, King of Armenia, under whose name there has come down a life of the first apostle of Armenia, Gregory the Illuminator, who died about 332. It purports to exhibit the deeds and discourses of Gregory, and has reached us in Armenian and in Greek. The Greek text is now recognized as a translation, made probably in the latter half of the sixth century, while the Armenian is original and belongs to the latter half of the fifth century. Von Gutschmid maintains that the unknown author made use of a genuine life of St. Gregory, also of a history of his martyrdom and of that of St. Ripsime and her companions. Historical facts are intermingled in this life with legendary or uncertain additions, and the whole is woven into a certain unity by the narrator, who may have assumed his significant name from his quality of narrator of "the good news" of Armenia's conversion (Agathallegos).

BARDENHEWER, Patrologie, 2d ed. (1901), 520, 521. The Armenian text was printed at Constantinople (1709, 1824) and at Venice (1835, 1862); the Greek text (with a French translation) is in LANGLOIS, Collection des historiens anciens et modernes d'Armenie (Paris, 1867), I, 97-163, reprinted from Acta SS., Sept., VIII) 1762), 320-402; VON GUTSCHMID, Agathangelos, in Zeitschrift d. deutsch. morgenl. Gesellschaft (1877), XXXI, 1-60.

THOMAS J. SHAHAN